Monthly Archives: September 2016

Proper lawn care is incredibly important for your commercial space, as the way that you present your space says a lot about your business. Your lawn is the first thing that a client, customer, or even an employee will notice when they enter your property. If a commercial lawn has dead grass, an abundance of weeds, and overgrown shrubs, it gives the impression that the business is not a welcoming place. Further, a lawn that isn’t properly cared for might make your clients, customers, and employees feel that they won’t be cared for. Proper lawn care is one of the ways your business can make that great first impression. The following are some ways you can care for your lawn this fall.

Timely Lawn Care is Crucial

If you want a beautiful lawn all year around — so you can continue making that first great impression — then you need to maintain timely lawn care in the fall. This includes raking leaves. When leaves cover the ground and are ignored, the grass is blocked from getting the sunlight and necessary nutrients it needs. This means that come springtime, your grass will be dead. Neglected leaves can also contribute to lawn diseases.

Cut and Water Your Lawn

In addition, continue to cut your grass until the grass frosts. Your grass still grows until then, and longer grass could increase your risk of fungi. This goes for watering your lawn as well (if your weather has been free of rain).

Prep for Winter with Fertilizer

You should still add fertilizer to your lawn in the fall in order to protect your lawn throughout the winter. This will help to protect your grass from disease, root damage, and cold weather so that it will be at its full strength in the spring.

Overseed Your Lawn

Fall is also the best time to overseed your lawn. Overseeding will maintain a dense lawn, which will further protect against possible damage. This is also a good time to overseed your lawn with ryegrass if you want to maintain that first great impression with a green lawn throughout the coming months.

The Question of Landscaping

Once you have your commercial space in great shape, you might be thinking about landscaping. Whether that means taking on a big landscaping project for the first time or giving your space an updated look, contact Blue Tree Landscaping. We’ll give your space the makeover it needs — and maintain it all year round, too.

As the weather gets chillier and leaves start to change, you’re probably not thinking about taking a dip in your (imaginary) backyard pool anymore. But that doesn’t mean that fall isn’t a good time to envision cooling off in your home pool — when summer rolls around again, that is. You might not be able to use your pool until next summer, but you can — and should — think about planning and constructing your in-ground pool in the fall. Here are four reasons fall is the best season to break ground on your in ground pool.

Contractors are more available

Most people think about building a pool when they’ll be able to use it immediately. That’s why contractors can be overbooked in the spring and summer months. In the fall, they have fewer pool projects, so they’ll be more available to answer your questions, tweak the design, and finish your project.

Pool materials are more affordable

Many companies have discounted pools and pool supplies because they still want to sell these materials during the off season. Pool fencing, too, is often discounted in the fall. Additionally, you might be able to write off the tax accrued in financing your swimming pool in your year-end taxes.

The ground is better suited to building

Summer rains can make the ground more difficult to build on. In fall, when many areas have dried off, all of the heavy machinery used for building won’t sink down into the ground and create ruts that ruin the effect of both the pool and your backyard landscaping. Also, if you have more leeway in the time you have to complete the project, you’ll be able to delay construction into the spring if you think of extra features or designs to add.

Your landscaping will be better off

If you work on a pool building project in the summer, your landscaping will be barren or disturbed by the construction machines. After your pool project is completed in the fall, then you’ll have plenty of time to plant trees and flower bulbs. You’ll also ensure that you’ll be able to lay down grass seeding on any ground that’s damaged during the construction process.

Blue Tree Landscaping

Blue Tree Landscaping thinks more about just building your pool; we think about creating a beautiful outdoor environment for your backyard by shaping your pool’s masonry, design, and construction plans. We’d be happy to help you design and build your pool using our expertise in Computer Aided Design (CAD), scale drawings, and high-quality building materials. Bottom line: we care about creating an entire landscape, not just building a pool.

Once you’ve mastered interior decorating for your home, why not try exterior decorating? Whether you have yet to hire a landscaping service for your yard, or have already transformed your yard, you’re ready to think about the next step: choosing a color scheme and design aesthetic for your outdoor space. Think of your yard as an extension of your home. You want it to be a welcoming place, somewhere to entertain your friends and family, or a relaxing place to soak up some vitamin D. The right color scheme for your yard will make your space that much more enjoyable.

Before you choose a color scheme, think about your color preferences. Color can greatly affect our mood; we generally have colors that we strongly like and dislike. In addition, think about the colors in your yard and how they will pair with your outdoor space. Red flowers pair well with taupe furniture, for example, but not so well with red furniture. The following are some ideas on how to choose a color scheme for your yard:

A Modern Option

If you’re a fan of bright colors and want your outdoor space to feel vibrant and ready for nighttime entertaining, color blocking might be a trend to keep in mind. This trend focuses on pairing bright shades of opposite colors. Try pairing purples and greens or oranges and blues for a bold look.

A Cohesive Variety

If your home is a collection of fabrics from your travels, knickknacks, and family heirlooms, then an eclectic color scheme for your backyard might be the perfect extension of your home. Look for mismatched patterns, fabrics, and materials with a variety of bright and neutral colors.

Keep Minimalism in Mind

When in doubt, consider a minimalist approach, such as a neutral color that compliments the color of your home and your patio. This will help to make the shades of your garden and pool really “pop.” Feel like that’s a little too plain? Consider a neutral striped pattern for your patio furniture, or a bright accent color, such as red or orange. Or, if you’re into more of the relaxed ambiance of the ocean, try mixing in some pale blue or turquoise as an accent color.

Time to Get Started

If you still haven’t hired a landscaping service, contact Blue Tree Landscaping today. Blue Tree will help you to create and maintain your dream outdoor space so that you can get the most out of your yard.

When summer is at a close, it can be tempting to sit on the patio and enjoy the last bit of the season. But don’t stop now. There’s still yard work to tackle in order to ensure the very best start to the season the next year.

Path Maintenance

All those walkways and footpaths have received a lot of use this year. Keep them going the next year, and avoid a winter spill, with a bit of maintenance now. Look over any bricks, pavers, and stones for cracks or slips. Adjust the paths as necessary, replacing any broken pieces.

Lawn Care

It’s not over yet. Keep mowing and maintaining your grass to help it stay healthy. For the last mowing or two of the year, be sure to drop the mower blade. This way, more sunlight can get through, ensuring a healthier lawn. While you’re at it, this is a great time to aerate your yard. Aeration allows water, oxygen, and fertilizer easier access to your lawn’s roots.

Problem Areas

Is the grass patchy in one area? Does your lawn need fertilizer? Assess the condition of your yard now and deal with it accordingly. Determine your grass type to decide on the optimal time to fertilize it. Plant grass seed to fix any sketchy areas so it has time to take root before snow hits.

Playtime is Over

As the weather starts to cool down, put away any unused children’s toys. Store them indoors, or outdoors in specially made bins built to withstand the elements. Grab the rakes, shovels, and any other landscaping tools lying around the yard. Instead of just shoving them in the garage until next year, clean them up, polish them off, and make sure you get the dirt off of them to avoid wintertime erosion. Get rid of anything that won’t survive another season, and add it to your list of things needed for next year so you won’t forget (and take advantage of season’s end sales while you’re at it).

Rake It Up

Piles of leaves in the yard may be fun to jump in, but they don’t do anything for your landscape. To avoid suffocating your grass, and any plants or flowers in the area, be sure to quickly rake up and remove any falling leaves before they become a wet, soggy problem.

Avoid procrastinating over your late summer yard maintenance. With just a bit of work, you can ensure a beautiful, lush lawn for the next season. Send in the professionals for a spotless yard without the work. Call Blue Tree Landscaping, the one-stop-shop for everything lawn care (and pools), to get your yard in great shape tomorrow.